this morning on "early today," presidential pushback. president obama sends advisers back to the drawing board. scores of sky divers attempt a record-setting jump in california. and paying tribute. the nation honors america's bravest for their service and the nation honors america's bravest for their service and their sacrifice. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

hello and good morning. i'm christina brown. today we begin with many options but no clear answer. senior administration officials say president obama plans to reject each of the possible scenarios laid out for a new american strategy in afghanistan. the president is pushing his national security team for more specifics on how, when and under what circumstances the u.s. will be able to turn over control to the afghan military. a key concern involves the credibility of president karzai's government, which is largely seen as corrupt, both inside and outside afghanistan. though the top u.s. commander there has called for at least 40,000 additional forces, the president wants to make clear that the u.s. is not pursuing an open-ended commitment. well, in the wake of last week's deadly shooting at ft.

ho hood, there are new reports that colleagues of the alleged shooter questioned his mental stability and his religious add mans long before he opened fire. according to national public radio, nidal hasan's supervisors expressed doubts about his competent using words like disconnected, paranoid and be lij rent to describe his behavior. other reports suggest hasan often became defense spiff argumentative in his frequent discussions about his muslim faith. although fellow psychologists at walter reed were alarmed, they never filed any formal complaints with army officials because they were worried their complaints may be interpreted as religious intolerance. instead they hoped hasan would be better supervised once he moved to ft. hood. marking the invaluable service of our armed services, both overseas but also here at home, the nation paused on veterans day to pay special tribute to all of those who had

worn the military uniform. nbc's leanne gregg reports. >> reporter: veterans day in killeen, texas, the town closest to ft. hood, where less than a week ago a shooting rampage claimed the lives of 12 soldiers and one civilian. >> still in a little bit of shock what happened handicapped. but, you know, we're trying to, you know, just come together. >> reporter: the post and surrounding communities are dedicating this day to the memories of those victims and to all veterans. >> look around you. this is what it means. without the service veterans have made, we wouldn't be standing here doing this today. >> reporter: at arlington national cemetery, president obama placed a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldiers, a time-honored prash of the presidency. >> in this time of war we gather here mindful that the generations serving today deserves a place alongside previous generations for the courage they have shown and the

sacrifices they have made. >> reporter: in mobile, alabama, hundreds lined the streets to honor veterans from marching bands to colorful floats, a way to say thank you for their service. from newark to houston, all across the country, a salute to america and the men and women in uniform. leanne gregg, nbc news. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. some of the first women ever to fly military aircraft were honored in dallas. 21 members from texas and the women's air force service pilots, world war ii pilots, known as watches, were given their proper recognition. senator kay bailey hutchison congratulated them. they'll each receive the congressional gold medal. also in texas, a retired air force pilot was reunited with valuable lost possessions. he spent seven years as a p.o.w.

in vietnam and left without his dog tags and wedding ring. after nearly 40 years, those items have been returned to him. and the best news of all, the ring still fits. a new jersey man was also separated from a wedding ring, only it was his wife's and he had accidentally thrown it in the trash. not realizing that the ring was in an empty cup, he tossed it into the garbage. he contacted the dump and was sold it was in a ten-ton stack of trash. after hours of sifting he got out of the dog house by finding the diamond. a team of sky divers broke a record in california. 78 thrill-seeking professionals leaped out of planes wearing winged suits which allowed them to fly. the group soared for two miles and set the record for the most winged suit fliers in formation. now, that is an awesome image. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel

forecast. good morning, bill. i guess it's cool it wasn't windy or rainy. >> yeah. i'm sure they wouldn't have done it there. where it is windy and rainy, christina, is down in the virginia area. it is a nasty morning out there. good morning to everyone. this is a november nor'easter. the winds are cranking. we got done with our latest high tide cycle. the next one this afternoon at 3:00 to 4:00. the area of target is new jersey southwards down into the norfolk region. our nor'easter, the storm system itself is now in eastern north carolina. but there's a big area of high pressure to the north. it's the pressure gradient between the two that is helping to pile up the water on the coast. a lot of heavy rain through the outer banks. and lighter rain from d.c. to philadelphia, southern new jersey, maryland, delaware. that rain will intensify later today. look at these winds. norfolk, wind gusts to 49 miles per hour. that's enough to do a little bit of damage. that's a good tropical storm

force gust. strong all the way up to atlantic city. that's the bull's eye over delmarva and the chesapeake. 19-foot waves. 18, 12. these are just offshore. that water is just piling up on the coast. so that's the travel trouble spot not just today but tomorrow. northern new england, you're fine. florida, you're fine. ohio valley, you look okay also on this thursday. that's a look at your national forecast. here's a look at the weather outside your window. well, from myrtle beach, your weather will slowly improve as your winds have backed off towards the west or to the northwest as the storm exits. your waves will come down and the rain will end. charlotte, you'll have scattered showers on and off during the day. well, christina, this is a big storm. we're not sure how historic it will be but it could go in the record books for coastal flooding. impressive images during the day today. >> all right. thanks so much for that bill. hp gobbles, macy's trips up, and cinderella takes a comeback

in china. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, taylor swift makes history without kanye west at the cma awards. the cavaliers have their revenge, and a couple of dunks you don't want to miss. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today". i'm christina brown. here are some of your top headlines this morning. on the eve of the president's trip to asia, fiery rhetoric from north korea. the north's government-run paper warned in a commentary that south korea will pay a, quote, dear price for a naval gun fight earlier this week in which one sailor was reportedly killed. despite the tensions, the u.s. still plans to send annen va to pyongyang. former heavyweight boxing champion mike tyson was arrested

for allegedly hitting a photographer who was also arrested last night. both have filed cross-complaints for miss demeanor battery. tyson claims he was protecting his young child from the overly aggressive photographer who was treated at a hospital for a cut to his head. 40 years after being wiped out, the brown pelican has been taken off the endangered species list. ken sal czar created the banning of ddt back in 1972 for the bird's comeback. after hitting a low of about 10, 000 stands at around 650,000. and andy warhol's silk screen title 2 h00 one dollar bills fetched at auction last night in new york. past presale estimates of $12

million. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10291 after climbing 44 points on wednesday. the s&p inched up 5. and the nasdaq added 15 points. taking a loot overseas trading this morning, in toque heeo, the nikkei lost 67 points, while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 229 points. it was a light day of trading on wall street but the dow and s&p hit highs. strengthened global recovery hopes and started the day on a high note. luxury home builders toll brothers led the day on the dow after a much higher than expected revenue sent shares soaring the dollar briefly hit a 15-month low fueling another record high for gold. hewlett packard plans to expand its networking business. the world's number one pc maker will spend $2.7 million to buy

3com. shares spiked 34% in after hours trading. a new report shows the number of foreclosed homes dip 3% last month, thanks to programs to help struggling homeowners. however, foreclosure filings are still up 19% over last year. it appears the head of american international group will be staying put, according to a letter sent to aig employees stating his commitment to the company. "the wall street journal" had reported the ceo was ready to quit over government restrictions on executive pay. macy's shares were down 8% after the department forecast earnings far below wall street's expectations. and coming up today, investors will hear more earnings reports from both ends of the retail spectrum, including walmart and nordstrom. finally, the beattles say you can't buy me love but for a

cinderella style ball where 40 prince charmings shelled out $5,400 apiece to find their princess. night of the slams of the nba. and will the nets ever win a game? plus, shak's act is getting fancy now that she's paired up with lebron. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. our big weather story this thursday is the nor'easter along the mid atlantic coast. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, first year cleveland cavalier shaquille o'neal is celebrating a win over orlando magic, his former team. of course it does help when you have king james backing you up. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. last season the cavaliers had no answer for the magic's dwight howard in the conference finals. this year, there's one major difference in cleveland, shaquille o'neal. looking for a sign lebron james will be jetting to new york when he becomes a free agent. check out his shoes. 27 on one for the yanks 27th win. knicks and nets fans love to see

that. he had only 10 points. behind the back dish for james and the layup. lebron's biggest improvement since coming into the league is outside shooting. he had 36. 23 of them in the second half. cavs win 102-93. new york had the lead in the third. that's when it al went to work. a dunk here, a dunk there, a dunk everywhere. 12 straight in the quarter. season high 25 and nine boards. 114-101. new jersey, sixers and nets. dunk of the day is brought to you by iguodala. the reverse wind mill. worth another look. only had nine points but none bigger than that. here's a perfect example why the nets are winless. down three. four seconds to pray. austin's inbound pass to the wrong team. sixers won it, 82-79. you saw the dunk of the day. here are a couple honorable

mentions. a huge one-handed slam. bulls lost their second in as many day, 99-89. and the pistons will bynum. high-flying act to get the bob cats. he had not one but two monster jams. put the pistons up by 35. bynum quickly becoming a fan favorite in detroit. they won big, 98-75. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. can we believe anything former miss california carrie prejean says anymore? donald trump weighs in. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, if you thought helping out a neighbor was a thing in the past in america, stick around. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday morning. look at the radar in the mid atlantic region. from the outer banks to norfolk, virginia beach, up into the richmond area, d.c. to philly, you need your umbrellas today. a lot of the umbrellas will probably break because the wind is strong along the coast. other areas today look great. new england, ohio valley, all through the southeast, no problems with your forecast. well, if you're watching us on wbal tv 11 in baltimore, have your child take part in an interactive yet sensitive exhibit that will change the way they viewed disabilities at the

accessibility at the port discovery children's museum. that's your eastern event of the day, christina. >> sounds like a great idea. thanks so much, bill. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. after years angelina jolie and her father john voigt have reconciled. jolie stopped speaking to voigt in 2001 after an interview begging jolie to seek help for mental problems. well, us weekly reports they reunited in february thanks in part to her significant other, brad pitt. well, history last night at the cma awards in nashville. taylor swift became the youngest ever to win entertainer of the year, while darius rucker became the first african-american to win new artist. in the beginning, donald trump stood by miss california carrie prejean as scandals swarmed. but yesterday he threw her under the bus. talking about her sex tape emerging just as her new book was released, he thought

obviously prejean herself leaked the tape. she's trying to sell a book, trump said. you never know what sells these days. would mel gibson have made a good 007 in before daniel craig was chosen, gibson desperately wanted the role but the producer felt gibson was too short. too short? but it's mel. >> i'm happy for taylor swift. that's great. >> it is exciting for her, yes. >> she was just here for "saturday night live." >> that's right. well, this comes to us from wowt 6 news in omaha, nebraska, where in nearby mill county, iowa, a hard-working community pulled together to honor one of their own. elton tackett farmed the land he grew up on until he passed away last week. folks showed up to harvest his fields. in fact, so many turned out they reaped the entire farm in a single day. i'm christina brown, and

this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> good morning, everyone. i am tony pann. it is going to be an active day with a brain. most of you have light rain at your house.

it feels cooler than this. 44 degrees at bwi. the forecast for today is often on rain showers. high temperatures only in the upper 40's about 50. we will look at the forecast when we come back. >> see you in a bit. here is a look ahead to 11 news today. >> baltimore city police are on the hunt for a man they say brutalized and murdered a 15 year-old boy. the details are up ahead. >> mayor sheila dixon heads back to the courtroom after a restless day off. >> one university is leading the way to ban smoking on campus. why some steam as opposed the idea. >> and what the zero on the roads. we will update you on a water main break. moment's notice, so make sure

your family is prepared. toys are important comfort items for children, but make sure your family has a battery-powered radio, a three day supply of food and water and an emergency plan in place. hi, i'm senator ben cardin. i want you and your family to be prepared for any emergency. get a kit, make a plan and be informed. this message brought to you by the national association of broadcasters and this station.

but imagine if you could get that dentist smooth clean feeling every time you brush at home. ♪ you can, with oral-b rechargeable brushes. dentist inspired cupping action surrounds each tooth to remove up to twice as much plaque as a regular manual brush. the power of a dentist smooth clean feeling every day. oral-b rechargeable brushes. starting at $22. satisfaction guaranteed. visit oral-b.com for details.